One Last Sin
by Thunder Explosion
Summary: She saved his life even though he had ruined hers. Now she was knocking on deaths door because of it. He refused to let her go out like that. He will do whatever it takes to save her.
1. Chapter 1

The carriage was especially quiet on the way back from Crocus, especially when the occupants had just won the Grand Magic Games. Natsu was puking, Lucy was playing with her keys, Erza was polishing her sword, Wendy was simply fidgeting, and Juvia was oggling Gray. Gray, well he was just staring out the window. His thoughts constantly drifted back to what happened during the fight with the dragons. He saw himself die, yet here he was. He was still confused as to what happened, but with time being the matter at hand, he had his suspicions. 'Ultear, just what the hell did you do?'

As the carriage marched on, they passed an old lady walking along the side of the road. Gray immediately felt some sort of familiarity toward the woman, who had long, violet hair. "No."

"Gray, did you say something?" Erza asked.

"Stop the carriage."

"What? Why?" Erza asked.

"I said stop the carriage" he said a bit more forcefully this time.

"Gray, you know we're pressed for time-"

"I SAID STOP THE FUCKING CARRIAGE!" The driver obliged and Gray jumped out, running after the old woman. She turned around when she heard his steps behind her. "Are you.. Ultear?"

The woman bore a sad expression on her face at Gray's question. Silence was in the air for a minute before she spoke. "Yes."

Gray immediately broke down in tears. He couldn't believe it. What happened to her? Was this the result of what had happened when he saw into the future? It had to be. He choked on his words. "You..saved..my life."

Ultear looked shocked. So it had worked. She had actually helped someone. The spell that she gave her life to cast had actually saved someone. She could die in peace now.

"Ultear, please say something."

The old lady looked at him with warmth in her eyes. "I'm glad you're okay." She smiled before turning and walking away.

"Why?" Gray asked under his breath, but she didn't hear him as she continued walking.

...

Gray soon boarded the carriage again, tears still in his eyes. He didn't say another word for the rest of the ride. He managed to stop the tears by the time they got back to Magnolia, but the welcoming party still felt empty to him.

He didn't go back to the guild hall. He aimlessly drifted through the Eastern Forest for awhile before heading home for the night.

When he got back to his place, he noticed a note on his door. 'Meet us in Southgate Park at ten tomorrow night.'

"Huh? Wonder what the hell this is about?" he asked aloud. He went into his house and crashed on his bed. He wanted nothing more than to wake up in the morning and have this all be a terrible nightmare, but his thoughts instantly drifted to the woman that he had grown to love so much recently. 'I swear, no matter what, I will find a way to reverse this spell. I will save you!'

...

The nightmares wouldn't stop that night. He constantly saw the images of Juvia and Lyon losing their minds when he died. He saw the spell shooting right through his head. It replayed in his dreams thousands of times that night.

Then he saw Ur. He saw his master preparing to cast the iced shell on the demon Deliora. He saw himself and Lyon watching helplessly as Ur sacrified herself. His child voice echoed through his dream. "I killed her. I killed her. I killed her."

Then he saw Ultear. He heard her voice, telling him the story about how her mother had abandoned her. How he was the reason that she didn't come home. That he had replaced her. "I'm the reason they weren't together" the voice echoed through his head.

The last was the image of the old lady walking away. She had admitted that she had saved him. She was the reason that he was alive, and she payed the ultimate price for his life.

"I ruined her life."

"I ruined her life."

"I ruined her life."

"AAAGGGGHHH!" he awoke screaming in terror, soaked in a cold sweat. He knew he was the cause of all her pain and suffering, and he was going to fix it. "I will get her back. I have to."

...

He didn't go to the guild hall at all the next day. He shut himself inside his house for the day, awaiting the night so he could see what that creepy note was about. When the time finally came, he left his house and made his way to the park.

Strolling through Magnolia in the cool night air felt refreshing to him. It was calming in a sense, but he was still on edge. He knew he had to be on his toes in case this was some sort of trap, but as he approached the tree, he knew who was waiting for him. Two robed figures were awaiting him.

"Jellal. Merudy."

The two figures took their hoods off and revealed themselves as said mages. "Long time no see, huh?" Merudy asked, attempting to lighten the mood.

Her attempt failed. "Let's get right to the point. Why have you called me out here?" Gray asked them.

"We know what happened to Ultear" Jellal told him.

"Yeah, I do too, so?"

"We did some research, and we found a way to give her her time back" Jellal explained.

Then Merudy jumped in. "You're not gonna like it though."

"Who cares if I like it or not?" he snapped.

"We thought about whether or not to tell you what we found, but we figured you did have a right to know what we discovered" Jellal explained.

Gray was growing impatient. "So are you gonna tell me or not?"

Jellal sighed. "The answer we found." His voice trailed off before he started again. "It lies in the book of Zeref."

...

**A/N: This idea came into my head as I was falling asleep last night and I wanted to get it on here as fast as possible. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Love__ and loss are the two most powerful things in a human's life. Both can bring out the best in a person, but they can also bring out the worst_

_..._

Gray was completely unfazed by Jellal's words. "So where's this book at then?" The two mages gaped at him.

"Really? That's it? I figured you'd be against this?" Merudy was bombarding him with questions now.

"I told myself that I would do whatever it takes to reverse this, well, whatever the hell it was that happened to her. I'm the reason that she's lived such a miserable life up until now and I want to help her. So tell me what you know!" Gray's hollering had scared the pinkette so much that she was almost on the verge of tears.

"Gray" Jellal began "even if we tell you, you know that we are sworn to erase Zeref from this world, and the information that we give to you is the most help we can provide. Do you still want to know?"

"Do you really think I give a damn if you two wanna help me or not? You called me out here to tell me what you know, so do it and I'll be on my way." Gray stared at the blunette with harsh eyes, and Jellal met his gaze equally. Merudy thought the two were getting ready to brawl before Jellal reached in his bag and grabbed an ancient looking purple book out and tossed it to him.

"We found it in the royal library in the castle. Turns out the royal family had a lot more dark magic than Eclipse in their archives. I assume they did a lot of research before starting the project, and this book involves turning back a person's time" Jellal explained to him. "We were planning on burning that book along with the rest that we found, but Merudy said she wanted you to take a look at it. Maybe you can find some alternatives to how the book works and we can bring her back some other way."

"Please Gray" Merudy spoke through the tears that were brewing in her eyes. "I want to save her just as bad as you do."

Gray clutched the book tightly to his bare chest and closed his eyes. "Alright. I have a friend who can decipher just about anything. If she'll agree to help me, then we can have this figured out by tomorrow." Jellal nodded his head at him.

"Then we will stay in Magnolia for tonight and find you tomorrow night. We can't risk being seen by the citizens though, so it'll probably have to be this late again. Thank you Gray." Jellal turned and Merudy began to follow.

"Thank you" Gray said back to them.

...

Another hour later and light had completely dissappeared from the sky as clouds covered the moon. Gray had found his clothes after the meeting with Jellal and was now making his way toward the Fairy Hills. He still held the book that they gave him in his arm tightly as he walked toward the door. With a resounding knock that would wake anyone in the dorm, Gray began pounding on the door hoping someone would answer his calling. After a couple of minutes, the door opened slowly, and of course it was the last person he wanted to see.

"Gray?" Juvia asked through half lidded eyes as she peeked out the door in her dark blue nightgown. "Did you come here for-?" She cut herself off as her overactive erotic imagination was sent into overdrive, fulling waking her up in the presence of her beloved. Her face turned beat red and steam blew out her ears as she imagined a scene where Gray would lay her down and give her the first of their thirty-three children.

Which was exactly the reason that she was the last person he wanted to see right now. Not only did she have the complete wrong idea about why he came here, she was also going to have the wrong idea about what he was going to ask next. "Where's Levy at?"

Juvia was shocked out of her first fantasy and her head now filled images of Gray and Levy together. She turned into an incoherent, babbling mess, causing Gray to forsake her help and just walk past her. The only words that he caught from her were 'love rival, Gajeel, anger, and shrimp' until he heard another voice. "Gray."

Okay, so maybe Juvia was the second to last person he wanted to see right now.

Erza stood in the lobby with a lance pointed directly at him. "You know it's forbidden for men to enter the Fairy Hills dorm. Now, why are you here?"

"I came to see Levy. I need her help with something." Gray kept his cool while facing down Erza's lance.

"It can wait until the morning. Now le-"

"I don't have time for this shit Erza." Gray's voice carried a harsher tone to it than before, one that he had never used on the scarlet haired mage before, subsequently throwing her off her guard. "Everyone knows about the traditions and I wouldn't have come here if it wasn't an emergency. Please" his voice softened toward the end of his speech as he held the book up to Erza "I need Levy's help with it."

The two of them locked eyes for a moment before Erza finally backed down. "Make it quick" she said as she turned to lead the way to Levy's room. Gray followed the knight up to the script mage's room and walked in behind her.

"What are you doing here so late Erza? I said you could bring that book back tomorrow." Levy groggily pulled herself out of the bed to see her intruder, only to see Gray as well. "Gah! What's he doing here?"

Gray quickly held the book up in his hand while Erza spoke. "He needs your help."

"What is it?"

"Apparently it's a spell book, but there's some dark consequences to using the magic. So I wanna see if you'd be able to see if there's any loopholes in the text that could bypass these consequences" Gray explained to her.

Erza looked uncomfortable at the text as Levy took the book from him and opened it, putting her glasses on to read through the book faster. Shock adorned her face as she read through the book. "Gray! This is one of Zeref's spell books."

"Yeah, I know" Gray bluntly stated, resulting in him being thrown against the wall by Erza.

"Where did you get that and what are you trying to do?"

"Jellal gave it to me so I could save someone who is close to me."

"Jellal?" Erza asked in surprise, releasing him from her grip. "What was he doing with it?"

"He found it and knew it could save Ultear. So he gave it to me." Gray's tone was indifferent with the woman, because, quite honestly, he couldn't care less about her relationship with the former dark wizard right now. He only cared about helping Ultear at the moment. Wriggling away from her completely, he then turned his attention toward Levy. "So I haven't read it yet though. What's it say?"

"Gray, this spell requires the user to use human sacrifices and steal their time in order to work. And there's no way around it" Levy explained what she read.

"Human sacrifices to steal their time? Do you think that's how Zeref became immortal?" Erza asked.

"Zeref isn't my concern" Gray stated. "I'm worried about Ultear. Not Zeref."

Erza looked furious, but Levy spoke before the knight could unleash her fury. "Wait a second, what happened to Ultear?"

"Did you see that image during the fighting when we all saw into the future?" Levy nodded. "Ultear used her magic to turn back time so we could all survive the incident. She saved my life." Gray was almost in tears at the memory. Erza and Levy looked at him in shock, while Gray grabbed the book and began to leave. "Thanks for the help."

Erza stood in front of him before he could escape though. "You can't seriously still be thinking about doing this? We're talking about lives here!"

"I'll figure it out. But right now I'm leaving."

"No Gray, I know that she helped us out and saved us all, but nothing can justify what you're planning to do. Give me one good reason to go through with this!"

"I love her, damnit!" Gray exploded at her. Erza and Levy were floored by his confession, and a faint slam could be heard from outside, followed by a couple of soft sobs. Gray walked right out of the room and past the eavesdropping Juvia, making his way back toward his house.

He said it. He fucking said it. He wasn't just in Ultear's debt, he wasn't just guilty about how he inadvertently ruined her childhood, he was in love with her.

Gray walked in the silence toward his apartment, unsure of what to do now. He knew that what he had to do was completely immoral, wrong, and went against everything Fairy Tail stood for. But at the same time, he was having a hard time caring.

Stripping down to his boxers, he decided to lay down in his bed again. 'Guess I'll have to go see Jellal and Merudy tomorrow.' He stared at the guild mark on his chest as he prayed for this to all be a dream again. He knew it was pointless to pray for it, but he still hoped.

'Fuck' was his last thought before falling asleep again.

...

**A/N: Yeah, so I hadn't written past the prologue of this for like six months... whoops. Initially I didn't get a lot of hits on the first chapter, so I just kinda felt people didn't wanna read this. But a lot of reviewers over the last couple months got me interested in this again, and inspiration for this hit me like a truck a couple days ago, so I picked it back up.** **So if you like this story, or anyone's story on here for that matter, please leave a review. It really could be the difference between life and death for a story. Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope it was enjoyable.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: First of all, HOLY SHIT 20 REVIEWS LAST CHAPTER! That's the most I've ever got on a single chapter of anything and I'm so excited! Keep those coming!**

**Anyway, first two thirds of this is basically a flashback, building Gray and Ultear's backstory a bit and (hopefully) providing some feels for everyone. Anyway, not much else to ramble about here so I'll let you all get to what you came for. Remember to drop a review for praise or criticisms.**

_"Thank you for coming, Fairy Tail" the voice said from underneath the blue cloak. The wizards from the guild were shocked as the figures in front of them revealed their faces. In front of them stood the man responsible for Erza's torment as a child and the two female members of the guild that was responsible for the seven year stasis of most of their members. _

_"Jellal" Erza's breath hitched in her throat._

_"Merudy?" Natsu and Juvia asked. "You sure have grown up" Natsu commented, causing the pinkette to blush slightly. _

_"You pervert!" Lucy and Levy proceeded to smack the dragon slayer, slightly lightening the mood. However, Gray could only stare at the raven haired woman who he clashed with on Tenrou Island. _

_"Hello, Gray" she greeted him in a whisper of a voice, unable to meet his gaze._

_"How are you all here?" Erza managed to ask. Jellal told the tale of how his memories came back to him while he was in prison and how Ultear and Merudy busted him out. The three then took turns telling how they became an independent guild dedicated to eliminating Zeref's influence from this world so no one else falls victim to the darkness like they did._

_Ultear then stated that they knew Fairy Tail was going to be competing in the Grand Magic Games, and she could use her improved arc of time magic to unlock their second origins and give them a power up. Natsu was the most excited out of all the wizards, proceeding to glomp the older woman out of gratitude, much to both Gray's and for some reason Merudy's annoyance. _

_The group of wizards set out to the beach where Ultear said that her painful process would begin. Of course Natsu had to be the hardass and challenge her statement saying that it couldn't be that bad. Everyone was pretty sure that he had changed his mind once he was writhing in pain on the ground with red ruins covering his body. He couldn't even speak through the pain, which was clearly a feat for Natsu. "Does it really hurt that bad?" Juvia asked._

_"Wanna try a sensory link and find out?" Merudy joked._

_"Uhh, Juvia will pass" the blunette said._

_"I'll go next. Natsu's just being a pussy." Gray said to Ultear. _

_"Okay. Just lay down here and let me place the spell on you" she said in a much warmer tone than she used with Natsu. "It is going to hurt though. Natsu isn't just 'being a pussy' like you said. We all went through the same thing" she motioned to Jellal and Merudy as she began to put the spell on him. A red glow came from her fingers as she moved her hands just overtop of his body, applying the spell to him. Gray's body began to twitch before unimaginable pain began to flood his senses, the spell taking full effect._

_"GAAAH!" He screamed in agony as the same markings that covered Natsu's body began to cover his as well. Ultear looked on with a twinge of guilt written on her face as she realized that she was the cause of his pain. Only the reasoning that he would be much stronger after this was what allowed her to be okay with this. _

_Juvia, worried about Gray in this state, kneeled down next to the object of her affections and tried to coax him through it. "Juvia knows that it's hard now. But Gray will make it through this. You're stronger than Natsu" she said in a weak voice, eliciting a weak thanks from Gray and a disgruntled cry from Natsu, muttering about how he was much better than ice princess. _

_However, Juvia's attempt at comfort awoke a certain jealous and somewhat sadistic side of Ultear. Grabbing the water mage, she pulled her away from Gray and set her down on the ground in a not so gentle manner. "You're next" she said with a torturous gleam in her eyes._

_"Huh?" Was all Juvia could work out before the time spell took effect on her._

_..._

_It was a few hours of de facto torture for the Fairy Tail mages before the pain of the spell finally wore off. Everyone who was with the camp was now sitting around, along with the three Crime Sorciere mages, nursing their wounds from the power up. Erza had went off to find Jellal, Levy was sitting with her team and Lucy, while Juvia and Merudy were sitting and having a conversation, soon joined by a pestering Natsu. This left Gray and Ultear to their own devices as they walked away from the camp. "How are you feeling?" Ultear asked._

_"Like I've been stabbed about a thousand times, had all my bones broken, and then got run over by a magic mobile" he said in a sarcastic tone. He noted the dismay on the woman's face though, probably due to the fact that he had admitted she had put all of them in a lot of pain today, and quickly tried to make her feel better. "I know we'll all feel better tomorrow though. We're Fairy Tail wizards after all. We bounce back quick."_

_"You call seven years quick?" Ultear asked in a sad voice, mostly to herself, but Gray had picked up what she said._

_"So, how has everything been since I've been gone?" Gray asked, hoping to get some sort of conversation flowing._

_"Well, life on the run isn't something that I exactly enjoy. But, it is what I deserve though, after everything I've done." Gray nodded his head as they continued to walk, now out of earshot of everyone back at the camp. "How has everything been since you got back from Tenrou?"_

_"Well, given the fact that we were all in a seven year coma, and then we spent three months in the Celestial Spirit world, it literally feels like I woke up two days ago and haven't slept. But it's been a lot to take in, what with everything that's happened." He grimaced as he continued. "I can't imagine what all our friends that were left behind had to go through."_

_"I'm truly sorry about that" Ultear frowned. "It was all our old guilds fault, everything that you all went through."_

_"Don't worry about it, it's all in the past now" Gray hung his head. "Nothing we can do about it, so lets just move on from here." Ultear grimaced; she knew that the whole situation was bothering him a lot more than he let on and she didn't feel like getting him all bummed out, so she went for a subject change._

_"So how are things between you and Juvia?" Gray actually snorted at the question._

_"Not a lot changes in two days Ultear. Even though it's been over seven years for all of you, we've had nothing happen to us. We were basically in a coma, remember?"_

_"Yeah" Ultear said with a sad smile. She knew it's not what he was getting at, but his statement then just kept reminding her of what a terrible person she was while she was with Grimoire Heart. "I just figured maybe something could've progressed between you two, given the way Merudy talks about her and how strong her love for you is." Gray hung his head at Ultear's assertion. _

_"I know that she loves me. And she's a very good friend. But I just can't return her feelings."_

_"I see" Ultear said. "Do you know why? It can't be because of her looks, because even I have to admit she's a gorgeous girl."_

_"It has nothing to do with her looks. I'm not that shallow" Gray defended himself. He looked up to Ultear, who coaxed him to continue. Breathing out a sigh, he did continued "I feel like she would become too dependant on me, like I would be completely responsible for what happens in her life from that moment forward. Hell, I already do to a certain extent just for bringing to Fairy Tail after saving her life during the Phantom war."_

_"Well, you saved my life from continuing along my dark path," she started with a blush beginning to creep onto her cheeks "so wouldn't that make you responsible for my life?" She averted her gaze from him at the end of her question and bashfully twirled a loose strand of her hair._

_"In a way I suppose" he admitted as he crossed his arms and looked out toward the ocean, contemplating the weight of carrying two lives on his shoulders. In a way, I guess Lyon was in the same situation, so make it three. 'Just like Ur' he thought._

_"I never got the chance to properly thank you either" she stated._

_"For what?"_

_"Well, for snapping me out of my deranged state after all. I was such a cruel person back then. Hell, even now I'm not sure that I've completely repressed that part of me. Who knows where I would be right now if you hadn't come along. I owe my life to you. Merudy's and Jellal's too, in fact. I feel terrible that I drug her along into my life given the state I was in. I was in no shape to be responsible for another life, but you helped both of us out of that, and that's the reason we were able to break Jellal out. He was an innocent person rotting away in prison because of me, but at least I was able to help one person recover from my actions. Hopefully many more as well. So thank you, Gray." By this point, tears were flooding her eyes and she had to sit on one of the rocks nearby because she was shaking so bad. Gray knelt down in front of her as she buried her face in her hands._

_"Look, I don't really know what to say right now. I've never been one who was good at comforting people, especially crying girls, but I can honestly say that I am very happy that I was able to help you." Ultear cracked a smile through her tears._

_"And I'm glad that you cared enough to help make me a better person. Even if it was just because you felt like you owed my moth-"_

_"Stop right there" Gray cut her off, forcing her to meet his hard gaze. "Do you remember what I said on Tenrou when you were trying to convince me to use iced shell to defeat Hades before our fight? About how it was your mother's will to revive Zeref?" She nodded slowly. "I said that I would do it, not because of your mother's will, but because of my own will to protect my family. I wanted to free you from your darkness, not because of some debt that I owed Ur, but of my own volition. So don't think that it was because of your mother that I helped you. I helped you for you, not your mother!" Tears were streaming down Ultear's face in waves now. _

_"Gray. No one" she choked on her words before she could continue. "No one has ever been so kind to me in my whole life. Thank you."_

_"Don't mention it" he disregarded the weight of his words as he stood and began to turn back toward the makeshift camp they had set up. "We should head back before the others start to worry." He began to trek back to camp, but Ultear grabbed his hand before he could go, stopping him in his tracks. He turned back to face her, but her eyes were shadowed by her hair._

_"I'm sorry" she muttered quietly, her voice still cracking from the sobs that racked her during her confession. "I'm so sorry for everything that I put you and your friends through. I don't deserve your kindness. I don't deserve any of your guild's kindness."_

_"It wasn't your fault" Gray said as he looked down at her. "It was those doctors who convinced your mother that you were dead. It was me and Lyon who convinced you that we were a replacement for you. It was Hades who manipulated you into doing all those terrible things. In the end, we're all just a victim of the circumstances that life gives us. Right now, life has given you a second chance and a lot of friends who love and care about you to go with it, so make the most of them." Ultear had stopped crying now, causing Gray to wonder if he said something wrong. "Sorry if that sounded weird. The sappy and empowering speeches are usually Natsu's territory, not mine."_

_"No, it was pretty good" Ultear admitted. "It's good to see that you're still the same after all these years." Gray wore a solemn smile at her comment. "Sorry I keep bringing that up" Ultear averted her eyes farther away from him. _

_"It's fine. I've heard from Lyon and them about everything that's happened since we've been gone. I know it must have been harder for you than for us" he started as he turned her attention back toward her "so quit discounting your own feelings and trying to make things better for only us. It's okay to be selfish once in awhile."_

_"Right" she agreed, although her voice lacked conviction. "There are some rules that our guild lives by though, to prevent such selfish things." _

_"Like what?" _

_"Well, we've sworn ourselves to our repentance. So, we've sworn that we aren't allowed to love anyone that walks the path of light. That was our main rule, in order to avoid dragging others into our darkness."_

_Gray cocked an eyebrow at her. "If that's one of Jellal's creeds that he made up just as a cop out to avoid Erza, I swear I'm gonna-"_

_"I came up with it" Ultear said defensively, causing Gray to look at her in shock._

_"But why? I don't understand why you would make a rule like that in your guild to stand in the way of your own happiness."_

_Ultear breathed out a sigh as she continued. "Personally, I don't really care if Jellal or Merudy follow it. Those two should be of a clear conscious. But I've done so many terrible things, not only to those two, but to countless other people as well." At this point, Gray really wanted to say something, whether it be preaching about the circumstances again or, well, anything that would help redeem her character at this point. However, he knew it wouldn't go over well if he were to interrupt her now, so he let her continue. _

_"Gray, there hasn't been a day that goes by that I haven't thought about you in the last seven years." Well, he knew where she was going with this now. He wasn't nearly as dense as some of his comrades, namely a pink haired dragon slayer that he fought with on more than a few occasions (per day). "But everyone and everything that I seem to let into my life becomes shrouded in darkness. I'm surprised that I haven't corrupted my comrades in some way yet. I don't want the same thing to happen to you."_

_Gray waited for a minute to make sure that she was done with her speech before he spoke himself. "I told you I have a will of my own. I think that I can keep myself, and you as well, from falling into darkness." _

_"You don't understand Gray. It's not optional. Everyone that I have ever surrounded myself with has fallen into the dark side. It's something I can't control-" Gray held a finger to her lips as he knelt down to face her. He brought his face closer to her's as he spoke._

_"I'll decide that." He closed his eyes and moved his lips closer to her's._

_Funny, he remembered this kiss vividly._

_Why aren't her lips crashing against his right now._

_He opened his eyes and what he saw was something he hoped to never relive._

_The battlefield of Crocus._

_Juvia's cries._

_Merudy's sobs._

_Lyon's screams._

_His limp body falling to the ground as the dragon's beam shot through his head._

_..._

Gray awoke face down on his pillow. At least with the sun streaming in he knew that morning had come. 'Stupid nightmares' he thought bitterly as he drug his boxers up to cover himself, followed by the rest of his clothes. Pulling his jacket around himself, he sighed as he opened his front door. 'Guess it's time to go meet Jellal and Merudy. I'm not waiting for nightfall for this'.

He stumbled through the city somewhat aimlessly as he looked for the two former dark mages, a slight rain sprinkling down. 'Wish I had Natsu's sense of smell right now. That'd really speed things up' he thought. He was left to rely on his own strengths; his intuition. Occasionally giving a nod to a passersby who recognized him, he walked toward a part of town he hadn't seen in awhile; Magnolia Slums.

Knowing some of the shady types that lived over here, he walked toward one of the inns located in the middle of the neighborhood. The bartender here was someone that Gray had met a few times, mostly back before Cana could hold her liquor as well as she could now and ended up here on one of her drinking adventures and he had to go fetch her. Walking in, the smell of cigarette smoke filled his nostrils as he took in the morning crowd of bar regulars. He quietly walked up to the man behind the bar, who had started to bald from the last time that he had remembered, and his dark hair had started to grey. His eyes seemed a little darker as well but he still had the clean-shaven look Gray remembered. The bartender looked up at him and smiled. "There's a face I haven't seen in about eight years. What are you doing here Gray Fullbuster? Can I get you anything?"

Gray nodded at the man as he took a seat. "Kinda early to start drinking for me usually, but I guess I'll take a beer. How have things been over here Corey?"

Corey had grabbed a short mug out of the glass chiller and filled it from the tap, before placing it on a coaster in front of Gray. Said ice mage took a long pull from it while Corey began to make small talk. "Well, kept the bar afloat this whole time. Heard what happened to you guys though, pretty fucked up."

"Tell me about it" Gray said as he set the mug down. "Pretty sure it's been harder for everyone else though" he said as the conversation with Ultear at the beach flashed through his mind. "Feels like I just woke up yesterday. Except seven years went by in the process." He took another pull as Corey nodded along with him.

"Nice performance you bunch had in the Grand Magic Games though" the bartender said. Gray took another gulp as he nodded.

"Yeah, great time that was" he said as he set the mug down.

"So seriously though, what brings you in here? I doubt it was just to see my sorry ass after all this time" he chuckled weakly as his joke.

"Yeah" Gray said as he looked him in the eye. "I'm looking for two people. I'm not sure where they stayed last night, but they wear cloaks and they're wanted by the council" he said in a hushed voice. "They never said where they were staying, but I was wondering if you might have seen them. They're acquaintances of mine."

Corey let out a laugh. "Boy, you just described half the people that come in here. But I think I know who you're talking about" he said the last part seriously. "Blue haired guy with a drug runner tattoo on his face and young pink haired girl with big tits?"

Gray laughed at his descriptions of the Crime Sorciere mages as he finished the beer. "Never heard them called like that but yeah, that's who I'm looking for."

Corey smirked at him as he pointed toward the stairs. "Second floor, room four."

"Thanks, I appreciate it man" he said as he made his way toward the stairs, the beer at least loosening him up enough to finally crack a smile.

"Hey Gray" Corey called from the bar. "It's good to see all of you back and well." Gray gave an appreciative nod toward him as he made his way up the stairs and toward the room. And there it was, the second door on the right, room four. He knocked on the door.

"It's Gray. Open up." It was a second before Merudy opened the door up to him, still dressed in her blue pajamas.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. Jellal had also stepped forward, fully dressed in his usual traveling gear.

"Didn't feel like waiting all day to meet up. Can I come in?" Jellal nodded and Gray stepped in before Merudy shut the door.

"So what did you find out?" Jellal asked.

"Right now, I have nothing" Gray admitted as he sat down on the bed. "But I have a few theories. So I wanna get to work as soon as possible."

"I'm not helping you perform Zeref's magic, just so you know" Jellal cleared the air before Gray could ask the question.

"I know that you two are against this, but I'm still going to do it if there's no alternative. So I'm not going to ask-"

"I'll help you" Merudy said.

"Merudy!"

"Jellal, Ultear was the most important person in the world to me" Merudy shot back at him. "If there is a way to reverse this, then I can't jusy sit by and let her rot in the state she's in now. I'll help you Gray."

"You realize this goes against everything our guild stands for, right?"

"Helping someone in need, especially one of our own? How can you say that! What would Erza say to that?"

"Merudy Rose!" Jellal snapped at her in a fatherly manner.

"Merudy Rose?" Gray asked in mild confusion.

"I'll explain it later. But Jellal, please!" Merudy was pleading to him now as he turned his head away.

"You're a grown woman. I can't control you. Go if you want. But I'm not helping and that's final" Jellal crossed his arms in defeat. Gray nodded his head as Merudy headed to the bathroom to change. There was a heavy silence in the air as Gray waited for Merudy to come out, fully adorned in her travel gear. "One more thing" Jellal demanded before the two left. "I don't want to see all of Fairy Tail drug into something like this. You should probably separate yourself from the guild before you start this."

Gray had a hard look in his eyes as he took in what Jellal said. "I'll talk to the master about it before I leave." And with that, Gray and Merudy were out the door.

Jellal stood in silence for a moment after the two left before letting out a groan of frustration and punching a nearby lamp off of the table, shattering the porcelain into several pieces. "I hope you know what you're doing, Gray."


	4. Chapter 4

Rain was still falling from the morning as Gray and Merudy made their way toward Fairy Tail "So I'm really curious" Merudy began to ask as her and Gray walked through the streets, the pinkette doning her signature cloak "how exactly did you find us? Jellal and I usually go to extreme measures to cover our tracks." Gray gave her a smirk.

"You forget that I've lived here for almost ten years. You just have to know where to look." Merudy seemed to accept his answer as they continued on toward Fairy Tail. "Care if I ask you a question now?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Why did Jellal call you Merudy Rose?" Gray asked with an eyebrow cocked at her. Merudy shifted under her cloak and stayed silent for a moment. "Hey, if it's an uncomfortable topic then you don't have to-"

"No no, it's alright" she said waving her hand at him. "It's just, Jellal didn't think that I should be without a last name, so he kind of came up with one seeing as I couldn't remember mine after I bounced through so many orphanages as a child. I guess that was the best he could come up with" she said with a half hearted giggle.

"Yeah, he's not a very creative one, is he" Gray agreed, remembering the Oracion Seis incident when Jellal was being hauled off to prison. 'It was the color of your hair' the man's voice played in Gray's head at the memory.

"No kidding. I just wish he'd help us with this mission. He loves Ultear just as much as we do, so I don't understand what his problem is" Merudy said, turning angrier as her words flowed out. Gray, however, just clapped a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure he has his reasons" he said in a calm voice. "I don't doubt that he cares, but I can understand his point of view. So if he doesn't want to help us, we shouldn't force him to. For now, let's just go to the guild and discuss things with the master." Merudy let a soft smile show beneath her cloak as the pair continued on. Eventually, the front doors of the rebuilt guild hall came into view, and the duo stepped inside. The air around them was somewhat light as he led the girl toward the back, until he was stopped by Mirajane. "What the hell did you do?" She was glaring at him with a deadly aura, causing Gray to stop in his tracks. Gray opened his mouth, but no words made their way out as he stared in shock at the usually bubbly barmaid. "Juvia has been crying all night and this morning. She only cries like this over you, so I'm going to ask you again, what the hell did you do?"

Gray blew out a stream of air as he rubbed his hand down his face. 'And I was actually in a decent mood today, too. So much for that' he thought sarcastically as he stared at her. "Look, I think she overhead some things last night that upset her. But right now Merudy and I need to speak with Makarov, so can I sort things out with her in a little bit?"

"You better hurry up Stripper" Gajeel spoke from the side. "I don't like seeing my best friend cry, after all."

"Where is she?" Merudy asked them.

"She's with Erza and Wendy in the infirmary. I think Natsu and Lucy just went in there too. And Makarov is upstairs in his office" Mira answered them.

"Alright, I'll make sure we're quick then." With that exchange being left, Gray and Merudy headed up the stairs to discuss the current situation with the master. Once up to his office, Gray gave a firm knock on the door. A grunt was heard and Gray led Merudy inside to see the old man. "You got a minute, Gramps?"

"Sure, sure" the old man said as he shoved a stack of paperwork out of the way. "What is it my child?"

"You may have heard from Erza or Levy about what happened last night" Gray asked the old man.

"Not particularly. Just Erza yelling about how you were planning to do something stupid. And that you made Juvia cry" Makarov sighed. "Just what exactly is going on then?"

Gray let out a breath of air and explained the situation to the master, not leaving out any details. Makarov looked to be in a state of thought for a moment before he spoke again. "Well, do what you must." Gray blinked twice in a state of shock.

"That's it? Do what you must?"

"Aren't you worried about the guild at all?" Merudy asked, disbelief evident on her face as well.

"There's a simple solution to that" he said as he cast a bright light from his hand that shone toward Gray's now bare chest. When he lost his top nobody knows, but nobody ever asks questions about it anymore seeing as it's a daily occurrence. The more prominent question on both Gray and Merudy's mind was about the absence of a dark blue guild mark on said man's chest. "Don't worry. I haven't erased it" Makarov answered their question before they could voice them.

"What did you do then?" Merudy asked.

"I simply placed an enchantment on it that rendered it invisible. It's reversable though, so your mark isn't gone forever. I've had to do this before, unfortunately" Makarov looked away with resentment in his eyes at the memories of having to erase his former children's marks.

"So you're really okay with me doing this?"

"Gray, I cannot force you to take a path in life. I can only guide you to find your own. If you feel this is the right thing to do, then who am I to stop you. However, I do ask that you return from this mission unharmed, because I have an important task for you when you get back."

Gray narrowed his eyes at the man as Merudy looked on in curiosity. "What sort of task?"

"You've had your share of dark secrets in the past, and so does Fairy Tail. I know you bear the weight of sin well, which is why you're the one who I am going to assign this task. Gray."

...

Gray left the office about thirty minutes later shaking in his place, with Merudy not faring much better. "We don't ever speak of this again until the time for it comes, okay?" Merudy nodded at him in understanding.

"Okay. I'll keep my mouth shut." Gray let a weak smile grace his lips as he pulled his shirt back on and fastened his jacket. "Now we just need to go see Juvia, right?"

Gray's face fell at the mention of the water mage. "Shit, I forgot about that." Gray turned to see Merudy was giving him a harsh glare and muttering something about crying and decapitation. "Yeah, yeah, let's just get this over with."

So the two walked down the stairs and toward the infirmary, Gray cautiously avoiding the white haired demon woman's gaze along the way. Gently pushing on the door, he slipped in quietly to see Erza, Lucy, and Wendy all trying to comfort a crying Juvia, whose hysterical sobs have long since been reduced to simple tears, though her face and eyes were still red and puffy. He noticed Natsu sitting across the room with his arms crossed as well, eyes boring daggers into Gray.

"Hey guys" Gray said lamely, knowing the full wrath of the females that he was about to receive. Juvia stared at him for the longest time as no one moved a muscle, the tension in the air thickening by the second. Finally, she spoke.

"Did you mean what you said last night? Do you really love her?" Her eyes were pleading him to tell her that what she heard the night before was wrong, that she was trapped in a nightmare and she still had a chance. However, any hopes that she was holding out were crushed when he gave a mute nod of his head. His admittance that what he said last night was true led a fresh wave of sobs to flow from the blunette's eyes. Lucy and Wendy quickly wrapped their arms around her as Erza stood up to confront Gray.

"So you're really going to go through with this?"

"Yeah. I have to." Gray turned his attention from Erza back to Juvia. "I'm sorry Juvia. I know how this must feel to you."

Juvia looked up at him with pleading eyes once again. "Let Juvia help you."

"What?" Gray was shocked.

"Juvia wants to repay the kindness that you once showed her. So let Juvia help you." Gray looked like he was about to say something, but Erza cut her off.

"I forbid it. Gray, I realize that there is no stopping you from what you want to do, but I absolutely refuse to let you drag anymore of our guild members into this. It's bad enough that you already seem to have Merudy on board with your little plan!"

"Hey!" The pinkette shouted in indignation, but Gray paid the two bickering women no mind.

"You really wanna help me?" Gray asked her. Juvia nodded and Erza looked like she was about to separate his head from his body. "Then stay here in Fairy Tail."

"What?" Juvia asked.

"I saved you that day during the Phantom war because I saw a lot of good in you. That's why I also vouched for you to join to the master. Don't throw everything away that you've worked so hard to find just because of something that I need to do. You don't need to carry the weight of something like this on your shoulders. I can bear this alone."

"Gray, this sounds like a sort of farewell speech" Lucy said.

"I wouldn't dream of it being a farewell. I'll be back, don't worry about that" Gray reassured everyone. "However, things got a lot more complicated than just a personal mission. I also have a task for the master, which is why I might not be back for awhile."

"What kind of task, Gray?" Wendy asked.

"It's a secret mission of sorts. That's all I can say." Erza eyed him up for a second, causing Gray to think that she didn't believe what he said. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I just don't think that you're cut out to handle something like this" she said coldly.

"I can handle myself just fine. I'm not a little kid" Gray shouted in frustration, stripping off his clothes in the process.

"I never said you were a little kid. I said that you weren't cut out to handle some-"

"I know what you said damnit. But I'll be fine. I'm going to get Ultear back, finish this job for the master, and then everything will be back to normal. Stop acting like this is going to change the world."

"Gray, do you have any idea the fates that befall wizards who dabble in Zeref's magic. Just look at what happened to Jellal. He lost his whole childhood and is now a wanted fugitive because of it. I just couldn't stand seeing the same thing happen to you, especially when I could do something to stop it." Erza was now tearing up as well at the mention of her childhood memories. However, this silence is when Natsu decided to break his.

"Hey popsicle, where is your guild mark?" The rest of the Fairy wizards stared wide-eyed at what they missed before. Indeed, Gray's chest was missing the familiar dark blue insignia that everyone was so used to seeing.

"It's part of the mission I took for gramps" he said quickly. "Now I need to leave." He turned on his heel and walked out, quickly pulling his clothes on as he stepped into the main hall. Merudy turned to follow, but was quickly stopped by something grabbing her wrist, which turned out to be Natsu.

"Hey, you're going to be travelling with him, right?" Natsu asked her.

"Yes, why?" She asked back, a shade of color matching her hair beginning to creep on her face due to their close proximity.

"Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. As much as we fight, I really don't feel like losing my best friend." Merudy gave him a reassuring smile.

"Alright, I'll keep him in line" she told him as she pulled away and ran to catch up with Gray. As she exited, the Fairy Tail members stared at the door they walked through.

"So what do we do now?" Wendy asked. Erza thought for a moment.

"Contact Lamia Scale and get ahold of Lyon. Maybe he can smack some sense into him" Erza commanded as she stormed out of the infirmary.

...

**A/N: This chapter was really hard to write and I don't know if it really turned out the way I wanted it to. So Gray's leaving, but he's not. Next chapter will break into the action part of the story and see the beginnings of Gray's plan to restore Ultear's time. **

**Anyways, you all know the drill. Review, follow, favorite, all that good stuff. Feedback is always appreciated. **


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